Emery giving Anderson another shot

BOURBONNAIS — The Bears swapped out one draft bust for another on the defensive line Thursday and it all makes you wonder where things went wrong with re-signing Israel Idonije.

Sedrick Ellis, signed in June to a $1 million, one-year contract ($500,000 guaranteed), did not show up for training camp. The team placed him on the reserve/retired list and signed Jamaal Anderson, who the Falcons made the eighth pick in 2007 when Bears general manager Phil Emery was the team’s college scouting director.

Anderson, drafted as a defensive end, produced only 41/2 sacks in four seasons for the Falcons before he was cut loose. The 27-year-old made some contributions for the Colts in 2011 and played only two games with the Bengals a year ago before requiring surgery to repair a quadriceps injury. The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder has played tackle too so he will be more versatile than Ellis, a tackle the Saints picked No. 7 overall in 2008.

But Anderson and Ellis combined have not been as productive as Idonije, 32, who signed late last month with the Lions for only $905,000 ($485,000 guaranteed).

The Bears had a standing offer for Idonije earlier in the offseason but never could reach an agreement. Somewhere along the way things fizzled out and now he’s with an NFC North rival and the Bears have potential depth issues behind starters Henry Melton and Stephen Paea.

Nate Collins played well in spot duty a year ago but Anderson and Corvey Irvin are the only other veterans with experience at the position. The Bears have expressed hope they can find a contributor from a threesome of undrafted rookies — Zach Minter, Brent Russell and Christian Tupou.

The Bears should be able to recoup the $285,000 signing bonus Ellis received as well as the remaining $215,000 in guaranteed money.